Michigan Football, Team 139, 2018 Season

[hack]

I mean, just for the sake of conversation, it could be that 6 TDs is better than 5 TD and 1 FG. But I've been wrong before.

[Jeff Buchanan]

[Jeff Buchanan]

.......... So all of you criticizing the offensive coaching are full of shit.

That's feelings ball, Dan, as much as I enjoy your posts and positive thinking about M football there are issues in both the run and pass game that were exposed v. ND and are going to get exposed v. the good defenses M will face the rest of the year.

On offense, with the exception of the WMU game and in that game for reasons that have been discussed (weak LB and S play), YPC is 3.3 in the 2 games v. ND and SMU (1.8 and 4.8 respectively). You have to flesh out the YPC v. ND and SMU to get that figure. WMU is an outlier and for good reason. ND may be the best indicator of how effective M's rushing game is. It is trending upward, I'll grant that but I think we are going to see that under 4ypc is going to be the norm. That isn't going to cut it and I'd say a good deal of that is due to unimaginative play calling by Harbaugh - who I have no doubt is making the calls. You cannot escape that conclusion when you have drives that stay alive 3X on 4th down attempts and a a drive v. SMU that, once it was inside the 10, took 5 tries to score a TD, 4 of them from inside the 5.

In the run game, the preseason view of the interior line was that it was strong. The tackles were unknowns. It's turned out that the OTs can't pass protect or run block very well and have missed not more than a few line shifts or stunts allowing free runs at the RB from the play side DE or back side tackles of M's RBs by backside DEs who run the play down off a missed block by the OTs. These are not blitzers, they are DEs and DTs getting by them. Screens, where the OTs have to get out and block are getting blown up. That's a big deal when scheming to mitigate a defense that puts 10 guys in the box includes screen plays. The OL has demonstrated they can't block these plays well enough so that may be why were not seeing it called a lot by JH in an effort to advantage the offense v. stacked boxes and blitzing LBs and Ss. The interior OL has been a disappointment. On film, they get very little push and are getting beaten on A gap blitzes - these have to be slowed up at the LOS so that the backs can pick these up successfully, that''s not happening. Ruiz's play at C has been less than spectacular. That wan't anticipated.

The passing game is phenomenally good, frankly. I'll give you that. You cannot argue it's just good enough given Patterson's numbers. But the reality is in Harbaughffense, the run game keys everything and that is below average - way below average. Does that mean JH is going to adjust his play calling to a run/pass mix that favors the strongest part of his offense? I think not - he's much more likely to keep pounding away on the ground to get it right and, I'll admit, there may be value in that. I do think, Harbaugh, tactically, in game, fails to take advantage of what a defensive is giving him with the pass game - a clear M offense strong point. In this way, he allows the risk of a fluky play, a bad officiating call or a big play by the opponent either to close the points gap or win outright. I worry that as the schedule gets more difficult we are going to see unnecessarily close wins or outright losses because of this.

Moreover, while Patterson is solid when M is leading by a bunch, he has a history at Ol'Miss and at M to press when the outcome of the game is in doubt. In that circumstance he is known to turn the ball over. You could avoid that by working to play a complete game by tactically deploying the best parts of your offense to get out in front of an opponent early and by a lot of points.

Jim says he likes fast starts. Have we seen one in the first three games? Nope. In fact, the first possession in all three M games have been three and outs. To me, that's partly, maybe mostly, play calling/scripting and I can fault him for questionable play calling throughout those games as well.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Seth did another Neck Sharpies piece on Power running, what it is, how it's executed and the how and why it didn't look so good against SMU. I like these articles and the demonstrate the blocking complexity and on the fly decisions, after the snap, that offensive linemen have to make.

Seth also explains why this play is run over and over again v. SMU, which we then interpret as bad play calling because it doesn't work often enough to satisfy our need for the demolition of an inferior opponent, that demo accomplished with character and cruelty. The reasoning, I guess, is that Harbaugh wants to keep practicing it to get it right against an opponent that he knows his team can beat. Clearly there are some risks in doing this sort of thing the way it appears that Harbaugh is doing it. I rarely post at mgo but I posted a question asking Seth if this kind of approach has merit or not.

https://mgoblog.com/content/neck-sharpies-power-practice#new

[Detroit Dan]

I mean they (offense) needed to make adjustments, and did they ever. More than feelings ball, that says somethin about sumthin.

Now it is true, as Hack will point out, that Michigan could have scored 6 TDs on its final 6 possessions, and gotten 2 point conversions on all of them. So there's always room to improve.

[WingsFan]

If I was Harbaugh, I would tell Chris Evans if you don't want to pass block for your QB - your on the bench!

[Jeff Buchanan]

I posted here earlier this week comments about Seth's review of the power run game. I had asked Seth to comment on my question, was it appropriate to keep running a play with a poor outcome for the purpose of practicing it until it was run correctly producing a better outcome? Instead, I offered that I think most fans would prefer a whooping up on an inferior opponent by running more passing plays that punish teams for stacking the box with Ss and LBs. His answer was, yes, its fine to do that because power is an essential play that can be run against any kind of defense with success ...... when it's run correctly. He went on to say that this is a play that Harbaughffense has to be able to run correctly, regardless of what defenders are doing, because it is fundamental to it. His point was that a good OL has to be able to adjust on the fly to what the defense is doing and make the correct blocks.

I learned some more about this today at the link below which describes the San Diego State Aztec's defense that embodies a different sort of approach specifically designed to make it hard for offenses to run the ball. There are some great videos and diagrams that describe it very well. Was SMU doing this to M? That's the question I have after reading the article. The defensive concepts described in the article are new to me but it seems a good many programs are running it and doing well with it against P5 teams that they otherwise can't compete with on a talent and size basis.

My next question, is the power run game that typifies Harbaughffense so easily neutralized by this defense? One noteworthy point raised in describing the Aztec D is that the deployment of lighter, very athletic Ss and LBs tends to make the typical offense's response to an opponent loading the box, the threat of a pass off the PA, RPO to the flats, deep or to a TE down a seam, to be somewhat mitigated? Maybe this is why we weren't seeing a lot of that because Patterson was looking at a defender covering those areas and the coaches in the press box were seeing the potential danger of throwing there? It's a good artcile on a number of levels dealing with things pertinent to the discussion and criticisms of Harbaughffense.

https://www.footballstudyhall.com/20...e-herm-edwards

[Detroit Dan]

Evans was a pass receiver on the play where he didn't pick up the blitz. He may have gone out too early, but that's a mistake that can happen and not a sign of unwillingness to block for his QB. SHEESH.

Evans has demonstrated the best of character and intelligence. I give him a pass on any mistakes he might make from here on out, and you all would be well advised to do the same.

[iam416]

That may be the most Dan post of all-time.

[hack]

Gonna be hard to top it.

[Hannibal]

I posted here earlier this week comments about Seth's review of the power run game. I had asked Seth to comment on my question, was it appropriate to keep running a play with a poor outcome for the purpose of practicing it until it was run correctly producing a better outcome? Instead, I offered that I think most fans would prefer a whooping up on an inferior opponent by running more passing plays that punish teams for stacking the box with Ss and LBs. His answer was, yes, its fine to do that because power is an essential play that can be run against any kind of defense with success ...... when it's run correctly. He went on to say that this is a play that Harbaughffense has to be able to run correctly, regardless of what defenders are doing, because it is fundamental to it. His point was that a good OL has to be able to adjust on the fly to what the defense is doing and make the correct blocks.

I learned some more about this today at the link below which describes the San Diego State Aztec's defense that embodies a different sort of approach specifically designed to make it hard for offenses to run the ball. There are some great videos and diagrams that describe it very well. Was SMU doing this to M? That's the question I have after reading the article. The defensive concepts described in the article are new to me but it seems a good many programs are running it and doing well with it against P5 teams that they otherwise can't compete with on a talent and size basis.

My next question, is the power run game that typifies Harbaughffense so easily neutralized by this defense? One noteworthy point raised in describing the Aztec D is that the deployment of lighter, very athletic Ss and LBs tends to make the typical offense's response to an opponent loading the box, the threat of a pass off the PA, RPO to the flats, deep or to a TE down a seam, to be somewhat mitigated? Maybe this is why we weren't seeing a lot of that because Patterson was looking at a defender covering those areas and the coaches in the press box were seeing the potential danger of throwing there? It's a good artcile on a number of levels dealing with things pertinent to the discussion and criticisms of Harbaughffense.

https://www.footballstudyhall.com/20...e-herm-edwards

"We've just got to execute better" will be chiseled on the tombstone of our program.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Well, Fred Jackson has the corner on that. Nobody, not even Dan, is going to beat Fred.

[hack]

XX has demonstrated the best of character and intelligence. I give him a pass on any mistakes he might make from here on out, and you all would be well advised to do the same.

There's a certain dignity and authority underpinning this passage. I think we call him Senator from now on.

[Jeff Buchanan]

BTW, SMU was not running an "Aztec" D v. M. There's was pretty much a straight up 4-3-4 with a smattering of 3-3-5 nickel.

[WingsFan]

That's all fine and dandy Detroit Dan - until are QB gets hurt.